Douglas Falls

 

Douglas Falls – 9/14/19 – 7.4 Miles

Doesn’t everyone have a file folder of hike plans for a short-notice-good-weather-forecast-gotta-get-outside occasion? Surely not just me…

I pulled up that file folder when Jim told me that he was going on an all-Saturday bike ride (becoming much more frequent). I’m chipping away at Carolina Mountain Club’s Waterfall Challenge and there are some outliers that call to me in these kinds of circumstances.  A three-hour one-way drive (aren’t they all?) but I had all day to do what I want… go hiking.

Two general ways to get to the falls from the NC Piedmont: drive around your elbow to get to your thumb, past Barnardsville to FR 74, for a one-mile roundtrip hike. Or enjoy a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway and access the Mountains-To-Sea Trail from several points in the vicinity of Craggy Gardens. The Douglas Falls Trail intersects the MST.  I parked at the Visitor Center and hopped on the MST for a 7.4-mile roundtrip. Since I’m driving all that way, I want to walk more than a mile…

When I saw that first MST white circle I felt the thrill of reunion: Hello, old friend! I hadn’t been here since Danny Bernstein and I hiked the MST together back in ’09. I remember this part of the trail well, eyes glued to my feet on the slippery rocks. The rocks hadn't changed, still challenging. I followed the MST northbound for 1.2 miles to the intersection with the Douglas Falls Trail. From there it’s another 2.5 miles down, down, down to the falls.

The humidity was noticeable, even with the high 70's temperature. Even though stinging nettles crowded the path, I was too stubborn to zip on my pants legs.

The beauty of the forest surrounded me on all sides, above my head and at my feet.

Majestic old growth oak and birch trees
Moss carpeted logs
Splashes of red mountain ash berries
Twisted trees
Stump shelters
Fruits of fading summer flowers giving way to autumn asters
Tinges of fall

White wood aster

Goldenrod

Burl

Burl

Hearts a-burstin’

Gentian

Cucumber root

Fruit (blue bead) of the Clinton lily

Decaying fruit of false Solomon seal

The trail comes upon a house-sized boulder with a campfire on its downward side. A steep side trail leads to the left, probably to the waterfall, but the main trail goes right and switchbacks down to the waterfall base.

As often happens at a waterfall that takes some effort, I was alone. Douglas Falls is the big brother of Moore Cove Falls in Pisgah National Forest, a 70-foot free fall over a bluff, carving out a rock wall with a flow like a rain shower. You can walk all the way around the flow. While the volume of water is usually underwhelming, stand close to it and imagine a few days of hard rain spilling over the ledge.

Leaning back against the rocks, I ate lunch while watching the water splash. When I closed my eyes, the sound intensified, echoing back from the rock wall.  Around noon, as I stood and stretched, I heard voices coming up from the lower parking area:  a family, including two unleashed dogs and a toddler in a backpack. Good timing again as I hefted my daypack and set off.

The steep hike back up was hot and sweaty. I stopped once for an energy bar break, pacing myself, and I felt like I still had a bit of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path conditioning in my tank. Coastal cliffs or deep woods, outside is always good for the soles and the soul.

"To sit in solitude, to think in solitude,
with only the music of the stream 
and the cedar to break the flow of silence, 
there lies the value of wilderness."
~John Muir